Japanese vowels are pronounced as follows:
“a” as in father
“e” as in weight
“i” as in ink
“o” as in open
“u” as in due
“e” as in weight
“i” as in ink
“o” as in open
“u” as in due
Syllables are given equal stress, with each vowel being pronounced separately. For example, the word for “no,” “iie,” is pronounced ee-eeay. O’s and u’s with a macron over them (
, 
) are given a slight emphasis. Tdo would be pronounced to-o-do.
, ) are given a slight emphasis. Tdo would be pronounced to-o-do.